Urban Thought Collective

One of my many favorite Obama quotes is “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” This is a great quote to think about as we begin a new year. Each New Year brings hope, optimism and new beginnings–especially this year because we are less than three weeks away from a new era in our country. Now is a great time to make change in each of our lives. Every year I make New Years resolutions big and small. Some years I follow through; other years the “new me” doesn’t make it through the end of January (but I’m trying)!

A recent article I read had New Years Resolutions broken down into three areas: Professional, Personal and Industry. I’m going to add a 4th area: charitable. So as change is on our minds right now, here are some suggestions for ways to add charity to the list of things that will be different and better in 2009.

RESOLVE TO GIVE MORE TO CHARITY THIS YEAR
Each of us gave a certain amount of money to charity last year, but in 2009 let’s resolve to increase our giving by at least 10%. Each of us has issues that are important to us: mine are the black male school to prison pipeline, education disparity, hunger and healthcare in Africa. Before you start giving money you should decide what issues you want to support: education, domestic violence, economic empowerment, the arts? Once you decide on those issues and set your giving priorities you should direct most of your money to organizations working on those issues. Decide in this first month of the year to give a little bit more than you gave in 2008.

GIVE MONEY TO AN ORGANIZATION OTHER THAN YOUR CHURCH OR RELIGIOUS INSTIUTION
90% of charitable giving by African-Americans is to churches or religious institutions. While it is important to support churches and the work that they do, the money that we give does not always go to the community—in many cases it goes to make the church better. Some churches give a portion of the money they receive to community organizations but churches don’t always do enough to help support nonprofit and community organizations. So giving to your church is not enough. In addition to your church giving, give money to a nonprofit organization.

DEVELOP A GIVING BUDGET
We all get hit up with requests for charitable donations throughout the year: someone is running in a race to benefit a charity and wants you to be a sponsor; someone wants you to buy a ticket for a fundraising event; the list goes on and on. One way to figure out how much you can give to charities each year is by setting a charity budget. Rather than giving money in a half hazard way, if you decide now that you will donate $1000 during 2009 to charitable causes, each time you receive a request for a charitable donation you will know how much money you can give.

GIVE TIME
In a speech he gave in July 2008, President-Elect Obama discussed the importance of service. “We need your service, right now, in this moment – our moment – in history. I’m not going to tell you what your role should be; that’s for you to discover. But I am going to ask you to play your part; ask you to stand up; ask you to put your foot firmly into the current of history.” Beginning in January, National Mentor Month, President-Elect will appear in a print ad with this quote urging people to be the change by becoming a mentor.

President-Elect Obama is planning to make service one of the defining themes of his Presidency. So why not get a head start? Many of us are trying to do all things Obama these days (if only I could exercise six days a week like he does); we should also embrace his commitment to community service. This is a great time to get involved with a mentoring or volunteer program. I have mentored high school, college and law school students. I hope the mentoring experience was rewarding for the mentor but was even more rewarding for me.

GIVE STUFF
The beginning of a new year is a great time for renewal. Just as we got rid of 2008, a drama filed year; the new year is a great time to renew. Go through your closets and get rid of old stuff –that coat you haven’t worn, those jeans that are too tight (or it that just me?), that sweater you never wear. Gather all of that stuff up and take it to Salvation Army or Goodwill. You don’t need it but someone else does.

I’ll have more suggestions next week. I would love to hear your charity resolutions. The beginning of a year is a time for rededication and reflection. Decide the things that you want to accomplish (in all areas of your life not just with charities) and come up with a plan. After November 4, 2008, it’s hard to say “it can’t be done, it won’t happen.” How many of us last January thought we would be talking about President Obama? What has happened in the past year demonstrates that anything is possible!

What are your charity resolutions?

Angelia Dickens is an attorney and author with lots of thoughts and opinions, and now a place to share them (other than with her friends and family). Her blog is a compilation of her musings and commentary on charitable giving, volunteerism and philanthropy from an African-American perspective. Her writings have appeared in the Nonprofit Times and the Root.com. She can be reached at speakyourvoice@gmail.com. Read, comment and circulate.